TY - JOUR
T1 - Bacteriophages in Biological Wastewater Treatment Systems: Occurrence, Characterization, and Function
AU - Runa, Viviane
AU - Wenk, Jannis
AU - Bengtsson, Simon
AU - Jones, Brian
AU - Lanham, Ana
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (grant number EP/L016354/1).
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2021 Runa, Wenk, Bengtsson, Jones and Lanham.
PY - 2021/10/5
Y1 - 2021/10/5
N2 - Phage bacteria interactions can affect structure, dynamics, and function of microbial communities. In the context of biological wastewater treatment (BWT), the presence of phages can alter the efficiency of the treatment process and influence the quality of the treated effluent. The active role of phages in BWT has been demonstrated, but many questions remain unanswered regarding the diversity of phages in these engineered environments, the dynamics of infection, the determination of bacterial hosts, and the impact of their activity in full-scale processes. A deeper understanding of the phage ecology in BWT can lead the improvement of process monitoring and control, promote higher influent quality, and potentiate the use of phages as biocontrol agents. In this review, we highlight suitable methods for studying phages in wastewater adapted from other research fields, provide a critical overview on the current state of knowledge on the effect of phages on structure and function of BWT bacterial communities, and highlight gaps, opportunities, and priority questions to be addressed in future research.
AB - Phage bacteria interactions can affect structure, dynamics, and function of microbial communities. In the context of biological wastewater treatment (BWT), the presence of phages can alter the efficiency of the treatment process and influence the quality of the treated effluent. The active role of phages in BWT has been demonstrated, but many questions remain unanswered regarding the diversity of phages in these engineered environments, the dynamics of infection, the determination of bacterial hosts, and the impact of their activity in full-scale processes. A deeper understanding of the phage ecology in BWT can lead the improvement of process monitoring and control, promote higher influent quality, and potentiate the use of phages as biocontrol agents. In this review, we highlight suitable methods for studying phages in wastewater adapted from other research fields, provide a critical overview on the current state of knowledge on the effect of phages on structure and function of BWT bacterial communities, and highlight gaps, opportunities, and priority questions to be addressed in future research.
KW - bacteriophages
KW - microbial communities
KW - microbial ecology
KW - viruses
KW - wastewater treatment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85117533006&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fmicb.2021.730071
DO - 10.3389/fmicb.2021.730071
M3 - Review article
SN - 1664-302x
VL - 12
JO - Frontiers in Microbiology
JF - Frontiers in Microbiology
M1 - 730071
ER -